Jeff Francis throws from the mound in Tucson this week. (AP, Ed Andrieski)

TUCSON — Because you asked, yes I saw Jeff Francis throw a side session today on a backfield. I don’t profess to be a pitching coach, though I do work with the 10-year-old and 12-year-old Longmont Outlawz competitive baseball teams. That has made me an expert on pop music and bubble gum flavors, but not all deliveries.

Anyway, here’s what I noticed right away with Francis. He’s throwing much more over the top, resembling the delivery he had until the latter part of the 2007 season. Shoulder pain caused him to compensate, which led to a three-quarter motion that was drastic he hardly recognized himself on video. Secondly, the ball is coming out of his hands free and easy. Throwing to catcher Mike McKenry, Francis located his fastball down in the zone and flipped in a few good curveballs that McKenry praised.

“I am not overcompensating for anything. I am not hesitating. My arm is doing what it’s supposed to do again,” Francis told me Friday afternoon.

Until Francis throws to hitters without a L screen in front of him, it’s hard to draw any conclusions. But it’s clear that he’s healthy. That’s a good start.

Other nuggets:

**Huston Street was painting at the knees in his side session. He looks way ahead schedule from last spring when he was working through a leg injury and wound up changing his placement on the pitching rubber. “There’s definitely a difference. He wasn’t like this early last spring,” said Paul Phillips, who caught Street’s session Friday.

**Miguel Olivo is going to spend extra time working on his receiving skills. The guy is impressive physically.

**Reliever Justin Speier started a new tradtion — the joke of the day. His first one was unprintable, but hilarious. Each new guy when introduced during stretch will be required to tell a joke. I like the idea. “Spring training is long, so you have to keep it loose. I set the bar high for the kids. They are going to have to come up with some pretty good jokes.”

TUCSON — Consider it a little lunch time snack to get through the day. During the Rockies’ one-hour open clubhouse session, I was able to talk to several players. Here a few highlights.

–Former first-round pick Greg Reynolds has teeth. I know this because he’s finally smiling again after the worst year of his professional career. Last season was ruined because of rare scapula/muscle problem. Every time he pitched, he heard a pop. To compensate, he began cutting off his delivery, the equivalent of a batter doing a check swing. The good news is that roughly four months after surgery to correct the problem. he’s throwing off a mound with his old motion.

“I am just concentrating on not taking the ball as far back, and really finishing my pitches. It was so frustrating before not knowing what was wrong,” Reynolds said. “I have no limitations. I am on the same schedule with all the other pitchers with a few extra rest days built in if I need them. My main goal is to stay healthy this spring and compete.”

Reynolds has been throwing primarily four-seam fastballs to really get comfortable with his arm slot after a year away from the mound. He faced hitters in the Dominican Republic a few weeks ago. “That was good for my confidence. And it was a relaxed setting where you could pump the brakes if you needed to.”

–Jorge De La Rosa sees no reason why he can’t duplicate or even improve on last season’s 16 wins. “I learned a lot about pitching that will help. I was much better about setting up the hitters,” said De La Rosa.

–Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales showed up this morning. They will be at practice this afternoon. Teammates really believe that Jimenez will win 20 games this season. And I don’t disagree.

–As part of his offseason, Huston Street worked out extensively with Matt Holliday and the Reds’ Homer Bailey in Austin, Texas.

TUCSON — At approximately 1 p.m. today, the Rockies’ pitchers and catchers will begin their first official workout. It’s always hard to tell the difference with this team because so many guys have been practicing all week. Here are some basics of spring for those who ask, and for those who are planning trips:

–The best time to get autographs and see workouts is before the games begin during the first week of March. Typically, the Rockies will stretch at 9 a.m. followed by pitchers fundamental drills and bullpen sessions. These include fielding, pick moves, bunting stations, etc. They are held on the back fields, which are open to the public. You can walk back there and bounce from field to field. Players are usually cool with signing a few autographs as they switch stations, it just depends on the time constraints of the drills.

–When the players report, they will hit on those fields. The highlight is usually on Field 5 where the power displays are the stuff of legend (I remember Vinny Castilla watching Matt Holliday and predict stardom).

–The actual Hi Corbett Field main complex is not open to the public. Right now, it’s hard to get to because of all the construction.

–The workouts usually end around 11:30 or so, followed by manager Jim Tracy’s briefing.

Hope that helps. As for today, it’s 63 degrees and sunny. Strength coach Brian Jordan and his staff are setting up cones for running drills. This first day of running usually provides some levity. Glendon Rusch was a classic in these drills, complaining to other pitchers for running too fast, thus making the fat guys look bad.

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.